The use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic equipment, consoles, and other furniture or accommodations aboard ships has been increasing. Equipment on a ship may be subjected to a variety of loading conditions, including shock, and the installation of such equipment must account for this loading, generally by fixing the equipment to the ship's deck. Much of the equipment being installed aboard ships during upgrades or reconfigurations is, however, no longer designed specifically for shipboard applications. Thus, the appropriate mechanical, electrical, and human interfaces must be reconciled, which can require a large effort. Toward this end, the Navy has adapted a modular foundation system based upon ISO Standard 7166 to several Navy ships, called “Shipboard Modular Arrangement Reconfiguration Technology” or the SMART track system.
The SMART track system includes ISO 7166 standard geometry slotted rails or tracks that are currently fabricated from either aluminum or steel and are installed in a parallel array at 12-inch transverse spacing track-to-track, with tiedown locations in the tracks at 1-inch spacing in the longitudinal direction. The slotted tracks are supported by a network of structural beams to the true deck. The space between the slotted tracks is filled by false deck panels, and the space between the false and true decks is used to accommodate electrical and other cables and connections. The track array provides a rectangular grid on the floor that allows easy spotting and installation for equipment items conforming to the track/tiedown spacing.
While considerable economies in equipment installation are possible using the SMART track system, an area of concern arises when a floor plan layout spots equipment or furniture in such a way that the attachment points lie between the tracks. In order to install equipment not conforming to the 12-inch×1-inch track/tiedown spacing, and to provide increased load capacity beyond that possible with a single track tiedown point, several distinct adapters have been developed. The necessity for adapters of various kinds has, however, several adverse effects upon the equipment installation. The increased installed equipment height associated with the multiple adapters changes seating, keyboarding, and viewing parameters from the original equipment design, which can cause ergonomic problems for those using the equipment. In addition, the adapters are complex, and considerable labor can be required to make the several levels of bolted attachments required from some arbitrary equipment base down to the foundation beams. Where equipment and furniture are closely packed in a compartment, it may be necessary to remove several pieces in order to access the adapter attachment bolts for the piece being added, removed, or modified, which can increase the costs of outfitting or retrofitting compartments with equipment.